Prof Joan Leach is Director of the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS) at the Australian National University. She is Chair of the National Committee for History and Philosophy of Science at the Australian Academy of Science.

She brings expertise in social epistemology and rhetoric to bear on challenges of responsible innovation. Leach is co-investigator in the CSIRO-ANU Responsible Innovation Collaboration.

She is a co-investigator on major collaborations with scientists researching emerging technologies. These include the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) project, Enabling Openness in Australian Stem Cell Research (EOAR) and the ARC Training Centre for Accelerated Future Crop Development. She collaborates with the University of Adelaide’s Food Values Research Group on several projects.